Mayor Francisco Romero and Councillor Ramon Zaballa have welcomed the 2 corporals and 11 officers who are now officially joining the force, bringing the total to 77, a historic high.
The Mayor of Vilafranca del Penedès, Francisco Romero, and the Councillor for Citizen Security, Ramon Zaballa, welcomed the 13 new members of the Local Police this noon in the council chamber of the Casa de la Vila, who have completed their probation period and basic training at the Catalonia Public Security Institute (ISPC). This includes 2 corporals and 11 officers who are now joining with full rights to the police force.
The Chief Inspector and the Deputy Inspector, Albert Romero and Joan Vich, also attended the event. During the meeting, Zaballa highlighted the government's commitment to citizen security. “We have increased the number of police officers to 77, a historic high; we have multiplied the number of surveillance cameras by six and we have drafted the Local Security Plan,” the councillor stated.
Zaballa emphasised that the force has “a team of highly professional individuals and an excellent working atmosphere,” which translates into “more arrests, increased street presence, a 5% reduction in criminal incidents, a 75% decrease in thefts in establishments, and less accidents on the streets of Vilafranca.” In his speech, he stressed that “in such a complicated society as the current one, you are the guarantors of freedom, democracy, and the welfare state.”
For his part, Mayor Romero recalled that the new organisational structure approved by the City Council, “the main service organisation in the region,” should allow the Local Police to work under better conditions. “The latest data is good, but we must continue to strengthen the Local Police and improve service to the citizens,” he asserted.
The addition of these 13 officers raises the Vilafranca Local Police force to 77 members, the highest number in its history. The increase in personnel is complemented by other measures such as the expansion of the surveillance network, which has grown from 10 to 60 cameras in recent years, and the approval of the Local Security Plan, which outlines the strategic lines of the force.
The new corporals and officers have completed a demanding training process that includes the basic course at the ISPC, covering theoretical and practical content on regulations, police techniques, mediation, and citizen assistance. After passing the tests, they undertook a period of supervised practice in the locality before securing their permanent positions.
The commitment to security is one of the municipal government's priorities, as both the mayor and the councillor have reiterated. The data provided by Zaballa reflects a positive trend: the 5% reduction in overall crime and the 75% decrease in shoplifting are some of the indicators the council uses to assess the effectiveness of the policies implemented.
With these 13 new officers, Vilafranca strengthens its operational capacity to maintain police presence on the streets and respond to residents' demands. The City Council plans to continue working on improving the working conditions of the officers and modernising the technical resources of the force.
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